Broken Vow
by Nuyaviel
Summary: A songfic about how Cho deals with Harry and Ginny's relationship... an alternative to 'Jealous,' which is how Ginny reacts to the pairing of Cho and Harry.


BROKEN VOW

_Tell me her name, I want to know_

_The way she looks_

_And where you go_

_I need to see her face, I need to understand_

_Why you and I came to an end_

---*---*---

Cho Chang was tense with painful anticipation. They would come in, any moment now. Their laughter would echo around the Great Hall.

She was glad he was laughing. 

But she wished he laughed with her. She wished he laughed because of her.

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger entered the Great Hall, heading straight for the Gryffindor table. But Cho didn't notice them. Her eyes were trained on the two people holding hands behind them.

Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley.

Cho dropped her fork. Her reflexes, honed by years of Quidditch training, enabled her to catch it in midair almost automatically.

They were talking enthusiastically to each other. And, God, they looked good together. The emerald in Harry's eyes was made even more intense beneath his unruly jet black hair . . . and Ginny's brown eyes sparkled prettily under her long red hair.

The perfect couple.

---*---*---

_Tell me again, I want to hear_

_Who broke my faith in all these years_

_Who lays with you at night_

_While I'm here all alone_

_Remembering when I was your own._

---*---*---

Ginny was saying something, and Harry, who was much taller, had angled his head slightly towards her to listen.

Cho turned away from them. She felt something wither up and die inside her.

Wasn't that what had attracted her to Harry in the first place? His ability to listen. He had always listened to her.

And now he was listening to someone else. Someone he loved. Someone who loved him back.

---*---*---

_I'll let you go_

_I'll let you fly_

_Why do I keep on asking why?  
I'll let you go_

_Now that I've found_

_A way to keep, somehow,_

_More than a broken vow_

---*---*---

Cho couldn't eat. Her throat was choked by tears.

She was the one that Harry had loved. When did she lose him to Ginny? When had she let him go?

_"Wangoballwime?"_

_"Sorry?"_

_"D'you – d'you want to go to the ball with me?"_

_"Oh! Oh, Harry, I'm really sorry. I've already said I'll go with someone else."_

_"Oh. Oh, okay. No problem."_

_"I'm really sorry."_

_"That's okay."_

_"Well – "_

_"Yeah."_

_"Well, bye."_

_"Who're you going with?"_

_"Oh – Cedric. Cedric Diggory."_

_"Oh right."_

Cho had loved Cedric. But mostly as a friend. If he hadn't died, she would have broken up with him, told him that they just weren't meant to be. But he had. And she was ashamed to admit that most of the tears she had shed had been out of guilt, not love.

Why hadn't she gone with Harry to the Yule Ball instead?

He had really wanted to go with her. She saw it in his face. She had seen the disappointment that washed over him when she said she was going with someone else.

He had gone with Parvati Patil. But now, he was with Ginny.

Would things have been different if she had shown him that she liked him back?

---*---*---

_Tell me the words I never said_

_Show me the tears you never shed_

_Give me the touch,_

_The one you promised would be mine_

_Or has it vanished for all time. . ._

---*---*---

Cho closed her eyes. She immersed herself in another memory.

"This is no time to be a gentleman, Harry! Knock her off her broom if you have to!" 

She believed that was when she had fallen in love with Harry. How many people would risk giving up the victory in an important Quidditch match just to avoid colliding with a player from the other team?

Over the summer, even as she mourned Cedric, she clung to the thought of Harry like a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. Cho had hoped Harry would be waiting for her, the way he had for the past two years.

But another girl had won his heart. His best friend's little sister.

Why did Ginny have to be so sweet and beautiful? If she had been an ugly old hag – 

No. It wouldn't have mattered who had Harry. All that mattered was that he belonged to someone else.

But Harry had loved Cho. And Cho loved him.

---*---*---

_I'll let you go_

_I'll let you fly_

_Why do I keep on asking why?  
I'll let you go_

_Now that I've found_

_A way to keep, somehow,_

_More than a broken vow_

---*---*---

But Cho would never have him back.

She remembered the Quidditch match that had taken place a few days ago. She had been all ablaze with excitement, because it was Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor.

Harry had already been dating Ginny then, but Cho told her heart that Harry would do something to show her that he loved her during the match. Because love wasn't a switch that you could flick on and off, right? He had loved her. So he probably still loved her, whether he admitted it to himself or not. Whether another girl loved him or not.

Foolish heart. It had believed her.

And Harry had captured the snitch about two minutes into the game. As Cho had trudged dispiritedly past the cheering Gryffindors, surrounded by equally subdued Ravenclaws, someone had shouted out, "Ginny, you should tell Potter to 'win this match for you' more often!"

Cho had almost stumbled. She had fled to the sanctuary of her dorm before anyone saw her tears.

Maybe love wasn't a switch. But for Harry, it looked like it could be transferred from one person to another.

It pained Cho how much Harry and Ginny loved each other.

---*---*---

_I close my eyes_

_And dream of you and I_

_And then I realize_

_There's more to life than only bitterness and lies_

_I close my eyes_

---*---*---

The Gryffindor table exploded into laughter. Cho looked at them. Of course, Harry and Ginny were in the center of the commotion, Harry's arm draped casually around Ginny's shoulder, and Ginny leaning against Harry, tears of laughter streaming down her face.

Cho was going to cry. And it wouldn't be because she was happy.

She whispered an excuse to her friends, grabbed her bag, and started to make her way out of the Great Hall. She left her dinner untouched, but she didn't care.

Why should she eat? Who was she making herself healthy for?

She knew her attitude was far from a good one. To appease herself, she vowed that she would eat a big breakfast tomorrow.

Then Cho, who was alone in the dark corridor outside the Great Hall by now, leaned against the wall and let the tears gather and slip from the corner of her eyes. Last summer, hadn't she also vowed that she would show Harry that she loved him, so that his love for her would increase?

Instead, it had vanished. Cho couldn't bring herself to do anything to bring Harry and Ginny apart. They were so happy together.

Cho slid down against the wall, braced her elbows on her knees, and buried her face in her hands. She hoped that would stifle the sound of her tears.

---*---*---

_I'd give away my soul to hold you once again_

_And never let this promise end_

---*---*---

Cho was still weeping when she heard footsteps.

She stood, swiping away the dampness on her face with the sleeve of her robe. Who was coming? Everyone should still be eating in the Great Hall at this hour.

"Are you sure you don't mind leaving the Great Hall early?" a female voice asked.

The deep male voice that replied made Cho stiffen. "Definitely not. I want to spend some time alone with you too."

Harry and Ginny strode out of the Great Hall, hand in hand.

Cho's backpack thudded against the wall as she took a quick step back. She nearly hissed out an obscenity.

Harry and Ginny saw her. They immediately went to her.

Under the light from the torches, Cho looked pale and disheveled.

Harry looked concerned. "Cho, are you okay?" He moved closer, studying her face. "You look like you're in pain."

_If only you knew!_ Cho thought to herself.

She gave a start when Ginny placed a hand on her forehead. "You feel rather hot," the younger girl said gently. "We can take you to Madame Pomfrey, if you like."

"No," Cho said quickly. "I'm –" _Fine? But I'm not. They're talking to me, and they're still holding hands._

She looked at Harry. He was looking steadily back at her, but there was nothing in his eyes except worry. No pain. No longing. No signs of unrequited love.

Cho fought to keep the tears from filling her eyes. "I'm fine."

Harry and Ginny were reluctant to leave her in such a state, but in the end she convinced them that she could make it to her room on her own. She promised to spend the rest of the night resting.

Cho broke her promise.

---*---*---

_I'll let you go_

_I'll let you fly_

_Why do I keep on asking why?_

_I'll let you go_

_Now that I've found_

_A way to keep, somehow,_

_More than a broken vow_

---*---*---

But it was in a way that soothed her, perhaps more than anything else could.

A Ravenclaw boy named Devon, one year older than her, came up to her. Nervously, Devon confessed that he had had a crush on her since two years ago, and would she like to go out with him, but if she wouldn't he would understand completely –

Cho was familiar with the pain she would inflict if she said no.

And besides, Devon was kind of cute. And sweet. He reminded her of Harry – 

"I'd love to go on a date with you. How about next weekend, when we go to Hogsmeade?"

Devon and Cho were up all night, talking.

END

Disclaimer: 'Broken Vow' is a song by Lara Fabian.

Which did you like better? C/H or G/H? Which was more angsty? Which was better? Or were both of them worth shit?  In other words, REVIEW!!!


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